Most young boys play with Toy Soldiers; some never stop! I'm proud to say that I am one that never has stopped. Toy Soldiers, painting the figures, history and miniature wargaming is what this site is all about.

Toy Soldiers and Dining Room Battles

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

In the absence of a regular army, the Trained Bands were the only
permanent military units in England when the Bishops' Wars broke out in
1639-40 and the First Civil War followed in 1642. The popular view was
that the Trained Bands were inefficient, poorly equipped and badly
disciplined.

The London Trained Bands were of better quality
thanks to enthusiastic societies of citizens who met regularly during
the 1630s to practice their drill, hiring expert soldiers to instruct
them. In 1642, the Common Council increased the four regiments of the
London Bands into 40 companies of 200 men each, organised into six
regiments and distinguished by their flags: Red, White, Yellow, Green,
Blue and Orange.

I have chosen to depict the Green Regiment - primarily because I painted the flag carried by the ensign green earlier this year! (Pike and Shotte Command Complete). I like it when a unit conveys a story. In this case, the flag is the Major's color and I envisioned the major, a veteran of the wars on the continent, sternly contemplating his command.

All of the figures are by Warlord Games. The "major" and the ensign are from one of their metal command packs and the rest of the figures are from their hard plastic box of infantry. I have gone with the generally accepted and recorded uniform of red coats for the London Trained Band and painted each soldier with the ubiquitous buff coat. The unit is based for my favorite set of ECW rules Victory Without Quarter.

Monday, June 22, 2015

We have had some dramatic entrances and exits upon our small stage at Baker Street, but I cannot recollect anything more sudden and startling than the first appearance of Viscount Greystroke in the summer of 1895. Only now, at the end of nearly ten years, am I allowed to supply those missing links which make up the whole of that remarkable adventure that took myself and Mr. Sherlock Holmes to an unexplored region of Africa . . . from "The Adventure of the Jewel of Chance" by John. H. Watson, M.D.

"Lord Greystoke I presume?"

Honorable Son #5 is a fan of skirmish gaming and I'm a fan of Sherlock Holmes, the books of Edgar Rice Burroughs and other fantastic tales of the late 19th Century. Since he is such a great son, I am putting together a special scenario for him using the rules In Her Majesty's Name. Below are a few of the shots as I worked out the play balance and I hope to have a complete "dispatch" of the adventure penned by Dr. Holmes later this summer. The scenario will involve Lord Greystoke and Sherlock Holmes attempting to stop a villainous gang hired by Dr. Moriarty to steal the legendary "Jewel of Chance."

The mysterious American adventurer known as "TR" is backed up by
ex-legionnaire officer Pierre Jean Alban as they cautiously advance
behind Lord Greystoke.

Dr. Watson, Lady Gwenda Hughes and Boer hunter Hans Rynsburger
following Holmes' lead as the come across the temple plaza in the lost
city of Opar.

The fearless Lord of the Jungle advances while his companions take up positions trying to get in a shot.

The creature is faster than at first thought and knocks a tree down injury Professor Nightingale! And what is that new sound coming from behind the obelisk . . .

As can be see from the photos, we are using odds and ends of what we have at the house: Wargames Foundry Figures, a Mordor troll from Games Workshop, Playmobil scenary, plastic trees from toy animal toy bags, etc., with some more surprises to come! I believe that it will be an entirely entertaining, legendary adventure that Dr. Watson will pen and share with us.

Friday, June 19, 2015

In celebration of admitting my love for the game in front of grown-ups, here is my Bretonnian Army. The army was put together when the official army list still had foot knights; since I don't play tournaments we just add what we want! I have no idea what addition of the rules are the current rules, but it is a fun game to play. My Bretonnian army consists of brave heroes and stalwart commoners defending the realm against the forces of evil.

The army commander with battleaxe next to one of his loyal lieutenants. One of my favorite characters is Jules the Jester.

One of the brave ladies of Bretonnia who add some magic to the force. She is also a constant reminder of why the boys are fighting! Dismounted knights are from Wargames Foundry courtesy of eBay.

What would be a Bretonnian army without mounted knights of the realm? Plastic set from Games Workshop.

A mounted Lady of Bretonnia with the army's banner behind her. Figures from Games Workshop.

Men-at-arms charging into the fray. Figures from Wargames Foundry.

More men-at-arms with a trebuchet in the background.

One of my all time favorite units is this mounted unit of light cavalry. They've also been known to raid France during the 100 Years War. Figures are Games Workshop.

Crossbows from Wargames Foundry.

One of my archer units. I have 2 units of 12 archers each. When both units fire at the same target that's 24 potential hits coming your way. Figures from Games Workshop.

Dismounted knights from Wargames Foundry.

More dismounted knights from Wargames Foundry.

Plastic archers from Gamesworkshop.

The trebuchet suffered from shiny new model syndrome in it's first battle; 3 misfires until it finally landed a rock on some Orks.

Friday, June 12, 2015

With the outbreak of active hostilities in this "Warre without an Enemy" another regiment for Parliament is raised. With their gray jackets, this gave me an opportunity to experiment with color using GW's Flesh Wash over Dawnstone Gray. I really like the results of the jackets which give them a darker "campaign" look.

Though created a baronet in Janurary 1642, Sir John Gell supported Parliament on the outbreak of the
English Civil War eight months later. He was commissioned by the Earl of
Essex to secure Derbyshire for Parliament and made his base at Derby,
where he raised infantry and cavalry regiments and a small train of
artillery. As Derby had no castle or walls, Gell ordered the
construction of extensive earthworks around the town.

Sir John Gell

Gell's enemy Lord Chesterfield seized early in 1643 and Gell joined Lord Brooke at the siege of Lichfield in March, taking over command of the
Parliamentarian forces after Brooke was killed. When Lord Chesterfield
surrendered Lichfield two days after Brooke's death, Gell sent him to
London in chains.

Gell then joined forces with the Cheshire commander Sir William Brerteton with the intention of marching against Stafford. They clashed with the Midlands Royalists at the battle of Hopton Heath where the Earl of Northampton was killed. When the Earl's son refused to return the artillery
captured at Hopton Heath or the money Gell had paid to embalm the body,
the corpse was paraded through the streets of Derby before its burial at
All Hallows Church.

In 1643, Gell was appointed commander of Parliament's
forces in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. Gell's troops became notorious for plundering and he used his
dominance of the Derbyshire county committee to secure important
appointments for his friends and relatives which led his opponents to
complain to Parliament. Gell's loyalty came under suspicion when he
failed to obey an order to bring his troops from the Midlands to join
Fairfax on the Naseby campaign in 1645. At the siege of Tutbury Castle
in 1646, he offered the Royalist defenders his own favourable terms for
surrender in opposition to those offered by his fellow commander
Brereton.

In 1648, Gell attempted to secure a pardon from Charles I during
his imprisonment at Carisbrooke Castle by offering to lend him £900 in
gold. In 1650, he was found guilty of plotting against the Commonwealth
and imprisoned in the Tower of London until 1652, after which he lived
quietly in London. At the Restoration, Charles II pardoned him for his
role in the civil war and granted him a position at court, where he
remained until his death in October 1671.

Saturday, June 6, 2015

I discovered The Miniatures Page (TMP) in 2002 and have found it a useful and amazing source for hobby news. Bill Armintrout does a great job with his site and I salute him for it. Through TMP I have come into contact with many others who enjoy this great hobby. On the other hand, with the exception of message boards that have a narrow focus, I have become more and more disenchanted with the general tone, disparaging remarks and personal attacks on the general message boards. I would like to assume that I am immune to cyber-bullying and I have not personally experienced the phenomenon. I have dealt with bullies in real life and have learned how to deal with them.

Representatives of the evil, capitalistic gaming business empire?

But what's up with the bullying on TMP? When you think of it, no matter how passionate we are about our hobby, at the end of the day we are playing with toy soldiers!

The electronic world and the internet has brought us the ability to exchange ideas and share information about our great hobby. I love the internet and the resources it provides. Healthy, lively and respectful debate is good. When I taught Military History, I used to tell my students if you bring in 20 historians into my room you will get 20 different answers as to who was the better general, Grant or Lee.

Unfortunately, over the years, I have noticed an increasing trend in the wargaming community with constant complaints about successful business models in the
hobby; primarily Games Workshop (GW) and Battlefront. If you don't like
them, don't buy their stuff! GW and Battlefront have probably done more
to introduce people to miniature wargaming than all of the other
companies combined.

GW produces the Warhammer
series of rules which have in the past been adapted for Ancients, ECW, WW I, etc.
GW also publishes the excellent Warmaster set of rules and was responsible for Warmaster
Ancients. And if you haven't noticed, Black Powder and Hail Caesar are the direct descendents of Warmaster. They have been innovative with multi-part hard plastic
figures which historical miniature lines are now benefiting from the ground work they laid.

I will personally help Battlefront destroy World War II! What? It's only a game. You mean New Zealand is not trying to take over the world? And why do the hobbits live there now?

Flames of War? It's a game. What, you say tanks don't line up and fire at the enemy? Dang. Thought I saw that in the desert and in a few other urban environments. Do we use terrain in rule life. Yep. Do we sometimes line up in real life. Yep. Oh well . . . I'll stop. This might start a new thread on TMP.

It's elementary my dear Watson. Wargames Foundry is trying to make a profit.

And yes, Wargames Foundry figures are expensive. There are cheaper alternatives. I love Wargames Foundry figures; I look for them on eBay. For awhile, every time Wargames Foundry raised their prices, you would think it was a personal sign from the antichrist if you followed the message threads on TMP. Wait a minute, they are toy soldiers right? And the purpose of Wargames Foundry (I'm making a bold assumption) is to make a profit, or a least not a loss? Let the market decide.

Anyway,
I like Warhammer and used to play it a lot; it's the rule set I used for
ancients for over 15 years. My fantasy gaming is basically Warmaster and Lord of the Rings
these day, but we used to have quite a bit of Warhammer Fantasy in the
house. My favorite army, because I could use it for historical play, is
the Kingdom of Bretonnia. Heck, I like flags and heraldry!

Historical or Fantasy? Maybe both?

So here's to you Games Workshop, Battlefront, Warlord Games, Wargames Foundry, Perry Miniatures and others! Thanks for investing your time, money and effort to provide me with a pleasant hobby. After all, for many of you it is your livelihood and puts the food on the table.

And yes to the message boards on TMP: They are toy soldiers. I have seen real war and this isn't it. It's a fun hobby and let's keep it that way.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

I was organizing my files on an external drive and ran across an old picture of Wargames Foundry knights I had painted around 2000. I believe the flags are from Warflag. With the revised interest in the 100 Years War, Lion Rampant, and the War of the Roses maybe it's time to do some Medieval gaming again . . .

About Me

I'm a retired Colonel of Infantry (Regulars by God!) who likes to play with toy soldiers. I've been married to the love of my life since 1986, I have 5 honorable sons (my geeks in training), 3 daughters-in-law, 3 dogs, and a gazillion miniatures.
Hobbies include . . . wait for it . . . Toy Soldiers, Reading,
Wargaming, Reading about Toy Soldiers, History, Reading about Wargaming, Gardening, Reading about History and Reading.